DEVOTIONAL

Thanks to intouch.org

Read | John 4:34-38

Think about everything that contributed to the story of how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior. It's probably not possible to fully count all those spiritual seeds that God used to draw you to Him. And not all the people who sowed good seed into your life knew what the outcome would be.

We also have the opportunity and privilege--every single day--of sowing seeds into the lives of others, such as our friends, co-workers, children, grandchildren, or even strangers. God takes what you plant and adds to it. He leads others to sow further seed or "water" the ground. Little by little, truth gets cultivated in their lives. What greater thing could you do?

Conversely, you might focus on providing your kids with plenty of material security and send them to the best schools and colleges--and yet it would count nothing for eternity. But when you sow into their lives the things of God and the qualities of Jesus, you're feeding their spirits. The seeds that affect their hearts, view of God, and desire to make a difference for Him in the world are what will produce genuine, lasting fruit and a great harvest in their lives. Whether or not you ever see the results, the Lord is using you profoundly when you sow this kind of crop.

God sees all the little things you do; He's interested in more than just "big" things. The fruit of His Spirit--such as kindness, patience, and self-control--often manifests itself in quiet ways that others may never give you credit for. But such spiritual seeds accomplish powerful work in His kingdom.

Fear of Failure

 
     Many people in the world view Christians as "Holier Than Thou" which is not the case for the majority of Christians.  They watch closely waiting for any mistake that we might make and they have no problems pointing out those failures or flaws.  No where in the Bible does it say if you become a Christian you will succeed in everything you do in this world.  Notice the last two words there "this world". 
     Our goal in this world is not to please the world with our successes, it is to please God with them.  If we are pleasing the world by our actions then there is no way we can be pleasing God.  The world, as a majority, hates God and everything he stands for so therefore they hate us if we are pleasing to Him (JOHN 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.") 
     Don't ever fear failing in this world because if you have accepted Jesus Christ as you savior you have already accomplished all you will ever need to accomplish. 


PSALMS 34:19 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all."

 JOSHUA 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Come On Churches.....

     Have you ever visited a church and just didn't get the right feeling? You have?  Well, you shouldn't have!! I know we are fickle creatures who can get offended at the drop of a hat but in a church you should NEVER feel this way. Too many churches are simply turning in to gathering places with cliques, rather than a place for gathering lost souls and praising God, TRULY praising God. I'm not bashing churches, I just think we as Christians need to really take a long hard look at why we're going to church.
     Is it to be seen, or is it to give glory to God? I pray it's the latter of the two for us all because if it isn't we will never grow in our understanding of God and what he wants from us.; So the next time you go to church think about where your heart and your head is while you are there. Make a concerted effort to recognize when your mind strays from the real reason you should be there and get it back on track.


Praise God and give him all the glory he deserves.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ ... Ephesians 1:3.

posted from Bloggeroid

**Valentines Day**

Valentines Day. A day we traditionally think about hearts and love and such. As kids we would give heart Valentines to friends and loved ones as though we were giving our hearts to them.
It was always great to see the smiles on their faces after they would receive their hearts because you knew it made them happy. There is one person we can give our hearts to that would not only make Him happy, but would make all of heaven rejoice, that Person is Jesus!
If you give your heart to Jesus you will get a gift back that is indescribable and will last forever!

posted from Bloggeroid

Let's walk on water

    Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk on water?  Peter was given that chance on the sea when the disciples were scared from the storm.  He wanted to know if it was really Jesus on the water walking towards them,they thought it was a ghost, and asked that if it was Jesus for Him to command him to walk out on the water from the boat to meet him.(Matthew 14:25-33).
    Once Jesus said "Come" Peter starting walking on water! Now, one would think knowing this was truly Jesus you would fear absolutely nothing. Uh, no. It just shows how truly pitiful our faith is as human beings.  Our life mirrors this incident in several ways.  Jesus may be commanding us to accomplish a certain task for Him, and at first we are real go getters with all the confidence in the world.  Then one thing happens, such as when Peter saw the waves crashing, and we doubt just a little bit.
    We all know what happens next, we start sinking, even with Jesus right there with us.  Oh how weak our faith is!!! Thankfully He will always reach out to help us, even if we think it took too long or wasn't the right kind of help we wanted. Trust in Him, He is our life, and soul preserver.

Get to know....

 With my job being in IT I spend a LOT of time at work. Naturally, that means I have gotten to know my co-workers very well and I understand how they will react to certain situations.  This makes things go a little smoother especially in pressure situations. 
  In life, if we have pressure situations need to know how to react to those in order to help us through.  First and foremost we should always act as Jesus would have acted to our situation.  In order to do this wouldn't you say you would need to know how He would react first? The only way to do this is to know Him better by reading and studying His word.  The most important thing we can do is to study the Word of God.
   Everything we need to know about how to handle anything life throws at us can be found in this Book, if we know where to look.  Take time to read, study, and most importantly, make some quiet time with God to get to know Him better. It is amazing how much easier things can be when you know how He would react.and apply it to whatever particular situation you are in.  We will never have a trouble free life, but if we know Him and trust Him it can make the road a much less stressful one.
   Take some time to get to know Him.  See for yourself what it will do for you.

Psalm 62:8  Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

Psalm 119:42  Then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word.